Tuesday 25 June 2019

Which climates are best for passive cooling technologies?

A group of University of California, San Diego researchers set out to gain a better understanding of the thermal balance of power plants and surfaces, like heliostat mirrors or solar panels, when exposed to both solar (shortwave) and atmospheric (longwave) radiation. They quickly realized that they would first need to determine what roles cloud cover and relative humidity play in the transparency of the atmosphere to radiation at temperatures common on Earth.

* This article was originally published here

Studies uncover new approaches to combat hair loss in men and women

Two recent studies highlight novel ways to combat pattern hair loss in men and women using small molecules such as JAK inhibitors that reawaken dormant hair follicles, as well as stem cell therapies aimed at growing new follicles.

* This article was originally published here

Cryptocurrencies need close scrutiny, monitor warns

An international financial monitor warned world leaders Tuesday that wider use by retail shoppers of cryptocurrencies like Libra, unveiled last week by Facebook, would need "close scrutiny" by regulators.

* This article was originally published here

Scientists on Madeira see new 'plasticrust' sea pollution

Researchers say they may have identified a new kind of plastic pollution in the sea and they're calling it "plasticrust."

* This article was originally published here

Teaching robots what humans want

Told to optimize for speed while racing down a track in a computer game, a car pushes the pedal to the metal … and proceeds to spin in a tight little circle. Nothing in the instructions told the car to drive straight, and so it improvised.

* This article was originally published here

Report: Hackers using telecoms like 'global spy system'

An ambitious group of suspected state-backed hackers has been burrowing into telecommunications companies in order to spy on high-profile targets across the world, a U.S. cybersecurity firm said in a report published Tuesday .

* This article was originally published here

Automated cryptocode generator is helping secure the web

Nearly every time you open up a secure Google Chrome browser, a new MIT-developed cryptographic system is helping better protect your data.

* This article was originally published here

Little Raspberry Pi 4 debut marks big upgrade

That credit card-sized computer that has been a standout learning experience for students and hobbyists at affordable cost just stole the show, again. The new Raspberry Pi, announced Monday, "packs significant upgrades that could let it finally pass as an incredibly cheap desktop computer," said Gizmodo's Andrew Liszewski.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers model how octopus arms make decisions

Researchers studying the behavior and neuroscience of octopuses have long suspected that the animals' arms may have minds of their own.

* This article was originally published here

Virtual reality faces—animating precise, lifelike avatars for VR in real-time

Computer scientists are focused on adding enhanced functionality to make the "reality" in virtual reality (VR) environments highly believable. A key aspect of VR is to enable remote social interactions and the possibility of making it more immersive than any prior telecommunication media. Researchers from Facebook Reality Labs (FRL) have developed a revolutionary system called Codec Avatars that gives VR users the ability to interact with others while representing themselves with lifelike avatars precisely animated in real-time. The researchers aim to build the future of connection within virtual reality, and eventually, augmented reality by delivering the most socially engaged experience possible for users in the VR world.

* This article was originally published here

Tidal tails detected around dwarf galaxy DDO 44

By conducting deep, wide-area imaging survey of the galaxy NGC 2403 and its environment, including the dwarf satellite galaxy DDO 44, astronomers have detected tidal tails emanating from the dwarf. The finding, presented in a paper published June 19, could shed more light on the interactions between galaxies and their satellites.

* This article was originally published here

Hate speech on Twitter predicts frequency of real-life hate crimes

According to a first-of-its-kind study, cities with a higher incidence of a certain kind of racist tweets reported more actual hate crimes related to race, ethnicity, and national origin.

* This article was originally published here

Toward artificial intelligence that learns to write code

Learning to code involves recognizing how to structure a program, and how to fill in every last detail correctly. No wonder it can be so frustrating.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers identify new hunger pathway in the brain

A newly identified hunger pathway in the brain can quickly modify food intake in the presence of food, according to a study of mice published in JNeurosci. This pathway could be a future target for the treatment of eating disorders.

* This article was originally published here

Trulifi leveraging light waves for send-receive of office data

Some companies need your time when they explain properly what their technology is all about and in turn brochures, white papers and video talks are in order. Signify is lucky. Two words wrap it up for them. Light connects.

* This article was originally published here

Check your settings if you don't want Google tracking every move

I stepped out of the car and took a visit to a local hotel here right off the main road. It was so easy to find, I didn't have to use Google Maps to get there.

* This article was originally published here

Non-invasive, more precise preimplantation genetic test under development for IVF embryos

Selecting the best possible embryo to implant in a woman undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) is a complicated task. As success rates for IVF have improved, many clinics now implant a single embryo during an IVF cycle—with the goal of avoiding a multiple pregnancy—and the responsibility of selecting the embryo falls to the embryologist. To determine the quality and viability of an embryo, embryologists typically examine specific features of the embryos using a light microscope. In addition, specialists can use data from preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A), a test of whether cells from the embryo at the blastocyst stage have a normal or abnormal number of chromosomes. However, this crucial test carries the risk of false positives (which could lead to discarding a normal embryo) and false negatives (which could lead to transferring an embryo with a chromosomal abnormality).

* This article was originally published here

Does limited underground water storage make plants less susceptible to drought?

You might expect that plants hoping to thrive in California's boom-or-bust rain cycle would choose to set down roots in a place that can store lots of water underground to last through drought years.

* This article was originally published here

Patient data shows association between statins and type 2 diabetes

A study of thousands of patients' health records found that those who were prescribed cholesterol-lowering statins had at least double the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

* This article was originally published here